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You’ve been told you need a rectifier and you’re thinking, “What on earth is a rectifier and why do I need one?” Ashli Brooke Taylor is here to explain how a rectifier can help you electroplate, electroform, electrocoat, and anodize metals safely and with reliable results.

A jeweler in West Africa will typically own a hammer, pliers or tweezers, and a few other odds and ends that they keep in a hand-made toolbox. Since The Studio’s initial post about the Toolbox Initiative—a project that aims to provide West African jewelers with commercial tools and materials that are rarely available to them—Tim McCreight and Matthieu Cheminée have received donations of hundreds of tools and several ounces of silver to support the project. Read on to learn a little more about these skilled metalsmiths and to make a donation to this fantastic project.

Imagine welding posts to dozens of your earring designs in mere minutes. Imagine making instant repairs to tie-tacs, post earrings, scatter pins, and more in seconds. Your production efficiency—and customer satisfaction—just went through the roof! Read on to learn about how to use the RazzaWeld Hand-Held Fusion Welding System to do all this and more.

Both chemical and electro-etching can be used by jewelers to add fine, detailed patterns and drawings to their designs. In today’s post, Ashli Brooke Taylor compares these two jewelry etching methods and gives you the information you need to dive in and get etching!

With an Orion pulse arc welder you can fabricate everything from small jewelry pieces to larger hollowware works, make repairs without the mess of solder, and join dissimilar metals. Learn more by checking out a recent blog post from our friends over at Metalwerx Studio and, if you’re in Massachusetts later this month, learn to pulse arc weld at Metalwerx with our very own Sessin Durgham!

Joe Silvera, of the Silvera Jewelry School, was here at Rio Grande in August to teach a class on soldering gold-and silver-filled metals for our Summer Workshop Series. Heather Apodaca joined Joe’s 2-day class and learned to make a simple ring project using faceted round wire. In today’s post, Heather shares step-by-step instructions for making this simple eye-catching ring!

The best way to defeat tarnish is to prevent it. There are several products that can help you achieve this. And when tarnish has already taken over a piece, there are several ways to remove it. Ashli Brooke Taylor shares her favorite tarnish-preventing and tarnish-removing tips and products!

A jeweler in West Africa will typically own a hammer, pliers or tweezers, and a few other odds and ends that they keep in a hand-made toolbox. They must rely on their ingenuity because commercial tools are rarely available. The Toolbox Initiative aims to address this imbalance. Jewelers and teachers Tim McCreight and Matthieu Cheminée formed The Toolbox Initiative to assist the metalsmithing community in West Africa and to recognize them for their kindness and generosity during the research for the book, Legacy: Jewelry Techniques of West Africa.

Designed by Bill Fretz, the Fretz Jeweler’s Sledge Hammer is ideal for forging heavy wire, rod, or sheet. Today, on The Studio, Bill makes a striking twist forged bracelet using his workhorse sledge hammer.

All the world’s your jewelry-making oyster when you have a drill press in your studio. It can transform the materials you are able to incorporate into your work, allowing you to turn any stone, shell, or piece of beach glass that catches your eye into a potential element in your next design. On The Studio today, find inspiration, tips, videos, and other great resources that will have you drilling your own found jewelry today!

Rolling mills are great tools to have in any jewelry shop. They provide quick and efficient ways to roll out metal stock as well as countless ways to texture, pattern, and rework your metal creations. Once you’ve selected your rolling mill (or even if you’ve had one for years) this post includes some great rolling mill tips; from unpacking your mill to regular care that will keep it performing its best for years to come to diving in and using it for a million different jewelry-making tasks!

The best way to keep your tools in excellent working condition is to perform periodic maintenance. Although this is common sense, it is often the most neglected task. Today, on The Studio, Tim Sheriff of Swanstrom Tools shares great tips for maintaining cutting edges on both your Swanstrom Disc Cutter and your Swanstrom Super-Flush Cutters. This is a must see for maintenance of some of your favorite tools!

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Rio Grande’s Blog

Welcome to Rio Grande's Blog, a meeting place for those who, like all of us at Rio Grande, share a passion for making jewelry.

This little corner of the web is your opportunity to meet and visit with our experts and the experts who are our friends and partners. Come by often and see what’s new. Offer your take on the latest and greatest in your shop or studio.

Whether you’re just starting out or are always on the prowl for a new idea or inspiration, we look forward to getting to know you!